St. Paul daily globe., 1887-08-09
Annual
S232O.OOO
100000

J.
The necessity of building steamships
was never so apparent as at present.
The vesSelmen have taken obnoxious
advantage of the interstate commerce
law and advanced the rate of trans
portation to $3.50 per ton. A ton of ore
costs 81 at the mine, S1.50 on the dock
at Ashland, sixty miles away; add to
this the vessel rate, commissions, lnSur-
ance and lease rate of the mine and the
cost amounts to almost 50 at the blast
furnace. which is about what the ore is
worth per ton. Miners want some prOht.
Mr.. Benjamin computes that the new
steamships will land the ore at the blast
furnaces at cost to the trust OF about
90 cents per ton, a saving of $1.60 per
ton for transpOrtatiOn-a good profit i'll
itself. This saving alone will pay the
interest on the bonds. The Gogeblc
Range, in spite of the vessel rates, Will
shin about 100000 tons in 1887. 1t
is the policy of the trust, however. to
ship the reserve ore on the stocks,
amounting to over 100000 tons. this Win
ter. The Chicago & Northwestern rail
Way took its first contract OF 10000 tons
yesterday at 1928 per ton and Will con-
tinue to take contracts at less than yes
sci rates. The Milwaukee, Lake Shore
& Western railway has contracted to
deliver over 10000 tons during cOid
weather and is still taking contracts.
The Chicago, Milwaukee X st. Paul, ac-
cOrding to w. II. Dixon, assistant
general passenger agent at the latter
city. will have its extension into the
range completed for ore shipments in
few DAYS and will not wait for cold
weather. The Wisconsin Central has
its hands full with some 100000 tons OF
the Colby consolidated mines owned by
the directors of that road. The novelty
of yeSsel-OwnerS demanding more per
ton than the railways will drive mine
owners generally into ship-building.
The question among rolling-mill peo-
ple is in regard to the outlook for them
in case the ''trusts" mOnopollze the
mines. OF course, if the product OF the
ore is controlled by monopoly. its price
will be regulated by the trusts. The
Minnesota Iron company monopo-
lizes the Vermilion Range of Minnesota,
lust as the Windom-Dorsey trusts will
the Gegebic. Still. there are fOrty-fOur
alleged mines remaining outside the
trusts OH the latter range, which can
produce almost 100000 tons annually
almost as much as the trusts. Add to
this the natural competition of the sew
eraI monOpOlieS, and it would seem that
the price of iron will not be affected, at
least until the Minnesota company, the
Wisconsin Central people, and the trusts
unite.
On the other hand there has been
much fear among stockholders of iron
properties of OverprOduction and cOnSe-
uuent failure at the mines. 1t is thought
that the trusts will regulate this mat
ter. and consequently 5000 StOckhOld-
ers are now at ease, particularly as they
have got out of the iron business uneX-
pectedly with big profit. The trust
people know, however, that the demand
for BeSsemer ores is constantly increaS-
ing on account of the extensive prOduc
ton of iron for building purposes. For
instance. in one of p. ID. ArmOur'S new
structures there were 6S.000 tons of iron
ore reduced, equivalent to the annual
output of very large mine. Wood is
now seldom used for beams; iron Cir
ders are taken instead. The epoch of
wood has passed: it is an epoch of iron.
The modern trust is the most profit
able of all ventures. The stock issued
is put away in the safes, not having
cost any one penny. The money eX-
pended comes from the sale of the
bends which outside parties buy. The
stock which cost nothing draws all the
profits in dividends and in from one to,
three wears is worth par value. By the
time the bonds have expired your stock
holder has sold out and made a fortune
without extending penny, or else he
has purchased slice of the bonds with
the money he got for nothing and is
drawing the fat interest on them.